The Heartland POD – Details, episodes & analysis

TALKIN’ POLITICS

Cook political Midwest races: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AXeZAkcuJTPPoCMTZZR2gH_02Po6rMac/view?usp=drive_link

• Iowa polling: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/house/2024/iowa/

Danforth blames Hawley: https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/04/jack-danforth-blames-josh-hawley-for-missourians-losing-out-on-radiation-compensation/

• Danforth instead of backing Kunce backs third party:https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/04/jared-young-hopes-to-build-momentum-for-third-party-senate-bid-with-jack-danforths-help/

Missouri Polling: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2024/missouri/

Abortion: 
- Melania’s book and video

Reports that women seek sterilization: https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/03/more-women-are-seeking-sterilizations-post-dobbs-experts-say/

2024 Election Era: 

270 to win polling: https://www.270towin.com/2024-presidential-election-polls/national

538: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/

Job Numbers are in and they are stellar: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/04/september-jobs-report-economy-00182505

• Wage growth 4%, which is ahead of inflation
• Opinion lags reality, still hurts Harris in that way

Trump is a coward who wont’ debate Harris because he knows he can’t beat her: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4898291-bret-baier-trump-not-harris-debate-holdup-fox-news/

Trump caught on tape: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/trump-fundraiser-recording

Trump continues to be his own worst enemy: https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/trump-has-hand-does-he-have-game

GOP endorsements for Harris 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/politics/trump-january-6-cheney-2024-analysis/index.html

Trump’s election litigation machine: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/politics/trump-campaign-ground-game/index.html

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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Special Counsel Filing: https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/73357920e3c8d739/8fc8bfd0-full.pdf

In a new poll from NPR 58% of Americans are concerned about voter fraud in 2024, with 86% of Republicans saying they are very concerned about voter fraud. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/03/nx-s1-5130284/election-concerns-voter-fraud-trump-harris-poll

One woman in Missouri, out of Columbia, has been charged now with felonies for forging false documents in her quest to prove that local officials were accepting bribes from undocumented mexicans to get liquor licenses for local mexican restaurants. 

https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/03/false-names-used-in-testimony-to-missouri-house-committee-studying-immigrant-crime/

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

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Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel
American Economic Liberties Project
"How the Google Antitrust Trials Could Save the Future of Journalism"
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/-ABBTNlf0CQ

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

Co-Hosts
Adam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Threads)

Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Threads) 

Sean Diller  (no social)

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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SHOW NOTES

TALKIN’ POLITICS

Welcome to Missouri where our GOP supermajority puts the FUN in dysfunction. 

Quick Hit: Post Dobbs case rape related pregnancies https://www.lonestarlive.com/news/2024/01/texas-has-the-most-rape-related-pregnancies-of-any-state-with-total-abortion-ban.html

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022, 14 states have instituted total abortion bans. Between July 2022 and January 2024, an estimated 65,000 women and girls in these states became pregnant as a result of rape, according to the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

1. True Or False
   1. Colorado is on the verge of becoming a Democratic stronghold
      1. https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/01/25/colorado-gop-transformation-into-cult/
      2. Earlier this month, the Colorado Republican Party became only the second state party in the nation to endorse Donald Trump in his campaign to be president again. The state GOP’s own bylaws say it can’t take sides in a Republican primary contest. The party’s job is to support Republican candidates, not any particular Republican candidate, unless that candidate is unopposed.
2. Yeah…NO
   1. The fascists are driving off the good people
      1. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/25/us-legislators-elected-officials-abortion-gun-control?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
      2. A major survey by the Brennan Center for Justice released on Thursday warned that the spate of extremist intimidation that has been seen nationally in the US, epitomized by the attack on the Capitol building on 6 January 2021, is also sweeping local and state politics. In the fallout, elected individuals are limiting their interactions with constituents and narrowing the contentious topics they are prepared to take on.
3. Yeah… Yeah! 
   1. Tuition free journalism school
      1. https://www.axios.com/2024/01/25/cuny-journalism-school-craig-newmark-tuition-free
   2. 
       
4. Buy or Sell
   1. Political Media Will Be Completely Different By End Of This Decade
      1. https://www.semafor.com/article/01/21/2024/inside-the-collapsing-us-political-media-industrial-complex
5. The Big One
   1. Republicans across the country are having BIG feelings
   2. Michigan: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/25/rnc-kristina-karamo-michigan-republican?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
   3. Missouri: https://themissouritimes.com/senate-leadership-holds-press-conference/
      1. Then it kept getting worse: https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/25/missouri-senate-gop-warfare-escalates-with-suggestion-of-expelling-freedom-caucus-leader/
   4. Arizona: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/politics/kari-lake-arizona-gop.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
   5. 
       
6. 2024 Election Coverage Era
   1. GOP is having money troubles
      1. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jan/26/rnc-seeking-new-credit-line-to-help-climb-out-of-m/
      2. 
          
   2. New Hampshire Results
      1. Biden wins big even as a write in - THIS is an actual “win”
      2. Haley performs well but Trump takes majority of delegates out of New Hampshire 
         1. Haley isn’t going anywhere either
            1. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/politics/nikki-haley-trump-republican-primary/index.html
            2. But RNC would very much like her to do so
               https://www.semafor.com/article/01/24/2024/rnc-to-nikki-haley-drop-out

GOP proposing a move that let’s them move past democracy as a party and just declare a winner, which is really super cool: 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/politics/rnc-trump-presumptive-nominee-resolution/index.html

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

Co-Hosts
Adam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Threads)

Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Threads) 

Sean Diller  (no social)

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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A flyover from this week's top heartland stories including:

Missouri GOP in-fighting in full swing | In Iowa there’s something in the water… poop | Missouri Medicaid enrollees trapped in a nightmare | Kari Lake leaks a tape | CO House ditches Minority Leader Mike Lynch | Iowa anthem antics | Ted Cruz’s Democratic challenger in Texas | Missouri Senator Nick Schroer is a joke 

SOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Colorado News Line, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol Dispatch

1. Throw The Bums Out! 
   1. https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/25/missouri-senate-gop-warfare-escalates-with-suggestion-of-expelling-freedom-caucus-leader/
   2. The factional fights making the Missouri Senate a public spectacle are bad enough that Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin told reporters Thursday that she’d vote to expel the leader of the Freedom Caucus from the chamber.
   3. Speaking to the assembled editors and publishers from the Missouri Press Association during their annual visit to the Capitol, O’Laughlin noted that expelling a senator takes 23 votes of the 34-member chamber.
   4. “Two years ago, I said with 23 votes, you can throw somebody out of here,” she said. “And I would do it today.”
   5. Asked who she meant, O’Laughlin named Sen. Bill Eigel.
   6. “I would have to have 23 votes and get 23 votes, I’ll have to get some Democrats to vote for it and then I’ll have to give up something big,” O’Laughlin said. “So….everything here is a trade off you know.”
   7. Soon after the remarks were reported on social media by The Independent, the door to the Senate Lounge, where O’Laughlin was speaking, opened and a Senate doorman said Eigel wanted to talk to her on the floor.
   8. 
       
2. Must be something in the water… sadly, in Iowa it might be poop
   1. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/25/state-issues-several-fines-for-manure-violations/
   2. From article: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently fined several livestock operations and a manure hauler for infractions that ranged from failing to submit animal waste management plans to a manure spill that resulted from a train collision.
   3. The crash happened in June 2023, when an employee of Magnum Custom Hauling, of South English, was transporting up to 6,000 gallons of manure in Marion County.
   4. Employee Deal Keasling was operating a tractor that pulled a manure spreader on a gravel road south of Pleasantville when he approached a railway and noticed a train, according to a DNR order.
   5. “When he saw the train, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to stop, so he basically floored it,” said Janet Gastineau, a senior environmental specialist for the DNR.
   6. There is a bend in the road at the railway intersection and wooded areas nearby that might have obscured Keasling’s view of the train, which struck the manure spreader. Keasling’s certification to handle the manure had expired, the order said.
   7. No one was injured, Gastineau said, but an unspecified amount of manure went into nearby Coon Creek. 
   8. Magnum and Keasling were ordered to pay a $4,975 fine.
   9. The DNR also recently fined five livestock operations for failing to submit required plans to manage their manure, which helps ensure the manure is not excessively applied to fields:
   10. 
        
3. Missouri medicaid system seems to have been broken from the inside
   1. https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/23/perfect-storm-missouri-advocates-decry-medicaid-application-delays-coverage-losses/
   2. Hannah Kaplanis applied to Missouri’s Medicaid program nearly two months ago, but hasn’t received any response from the state.
   3. Just shy of 18 weeks pregnant, she’s in need of prenatal care and growing increasingly hopeless. Aside from a free ultrasound in November, she hasn’t been able to access any care. She called Missouri’s Medicaid helpline earlier this month but had to hang up after waiting on hold for 45 minutes, and she is unable to apply for other insurance until she is out of Medicaid limbo. 
   4. “It feels like I’m doing motherhood wrong already, but it’s out of my hands,” she said. “I’m at a loss. It’s just a waiting game and that gives me anxiety.”
   5. Jim Torres, program manager for health insurance services at Samuel Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, helped Kaplanis submit her application and has been checking its status. He said that he hasn’t seen “any movement on her most recent application that was submitted on Dec. 4.” 
   6. Kaplanis’ struggles are not isolated. 
   7. Missourians trying to enroll in or retain Medicaid — the government-run health insurance program for low-income Americans — report running headlong into the state’s increasingly-strained system. Interviews with advocates, applicants, participants and experts reveal increased pressure on the state’s capacity has intensified bureaucratic hurdles to accessing Medicaid, which include lost and missing paperwork, indecipherable state notices and marathon call center wait times.
   8. “I’ve been doing this with my organization for 10 years now,” said Saralyn Erwin, a marketplace and Medicaid coordinator at Northeast Missouri Health Council who assists with applications and renewals, “and this is the worst that I have seen it.” 
4. GOP Chair in Arizona Resigns After Evidence of bribe to Kari Lake
   1. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/politics/kari-lake-arizona-gop.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
   2. The chairman of Arizona’s Republican Party resigned abruptly on Wednesday, a day after the publication of a 10-minute recording of a conversation between himself and Kari Lake, a former nominee for governor, in which he appeared to offer a bribe to persuade Ms. Lake to drop her 2024 Senate campaign.
   3. In the recording, which was published by The Daily Mail, Jeff DeWit, the chairman, tells Ms. Lake that there are “very powerful people that want to keep you out” of the race, and suggests he is passing on a message from them. He says he had been told to ask her: “Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll and give her — to keep her out?”
   4. Later in the conversation, which Mr. DeWit repeatedly urges Ms. Lake not to repeat to anyone, he starts to ask, “Is there a number at which — ” before Ms. Lake interrupts, saying “I can be bought?” He replies, “Not be bought,” but instead wait a few years before running.
   5. Ms. Lake brushed off the attempts, repeatedly telling Mr. DeWit that she was offended by the approach. “That’s immoral — I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror,” she says, according to the recording.
5. The Colorado House GOP has a new leader… wonder why?
   1. https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/house-republicans-rose-pugliese-minority-leader/
   2. Colorado House Republicans chose state Rep. Rose Pugliese, a freshman lawmaker from Colorado Springs, as their new minority leader Thursday, a day after Rep. Mike Lynch stepped down following news of a 2022 drunken driving arrest.
   3. Pugliese had been serving as assistant minority leader.
6. Iowa Forced Patriotism In Schools
   1. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/24/iowa-lawmakers-consider-requiring-students-teachers-sing-national-anthem-at-school-each-day/
   2. Iowa students would be required to sing part of the national anthem at school each day under a bill advanced Wednesday by a House Education subcommittee.
   3. Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, stood and led the room in singing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” during her closing comments.
   4. Cahill said she sang because “our Capitol is the perfect place to show patriotism,” but requiring the singing of the national anthem in school classrooms each day is not the best path forward as it would be “mandating patriotism for students.”
   5. “I think that’s something students choose and it’s something that they learn and they’ll learn it in other ways,” Cahill said.
   6. House Study Bill 587 would require students and teachers at Iowa public schools to sing at least one verse of the national anthem every day, in addition to singing all four verses of the song on “patriotic occasions” as well as at school functions or school-sponsored activities as determined by the district. Students and teachers would not be required to sing along, but would be required to stand at attention, remain silent and remove non-religious head coverings as the anthem is being sung.
   7. Private schools would be exempt from this requirement.
7. Allred Alright For Texas? 
   https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/24/analysis-colin-allreds-chances-of-unseating-ted-cruz/
   1. Can Allred win? 
8. Missouri Dueling Club Opening Soon In Capitol Building Near You
   1. https://www.newsweek.com/missouri-republican-senators-duel-nick-schroer-1863838
   2. A ridiculous human being and MAGA stooge of a state senator in Missouri, who’s name is not important, offered a proposed new rule to allow for DUELING when the right wing snow flakes are insulted and get triggered
      1. His proposed amendment was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Missouri Senate Democrats. It read: "If a senator's honor is impugned by another senator to the point that it is beyond repair and in order for the offended senator to gain satisfaction, such senator may rectify the perceived insult to the senator's honor by challenging the offending senator to a duel.
   3. What kind of duels? 
      Dueling pianos? Dueling banjos? Dual credit scholarships? Dual citizenship? Dual enrollment? 

Weekend plans?

Welp that’s it for this week. Stories in today’s show can be accessed at the Heartland Collective, Colorado Newsline, Missouri Independent, New York Times, Iowa Capitol Dispatch

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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U.S. House Representative Colin Allred (D-Dallas) is the leading Democrat to take on Ted Cruz this November. Does the Democrat have any chance of unseating Lyin' Ted? Sean and Rachel look at election results from Democrats Beto O'Rourke and Joe Biden for recent clues. 

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threads

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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TALKIN’ POLITICS

Quick Hit: Memphis area bank hit for discriminatory red lining practices… in 2023 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/patriot-bank-pay-1-9m-211421738.html

1. True or False
   1.  The new tax bill including the child tax credit will be signed into law by January 29th? 
      1. Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/child-tax-credit-changes-2024-1862241
      2. Semafor: https://www.semafor.com/article/01/16/2024/top-lawmakers-release-bipartisan-tax-deal-expanding
2. Yea…Yeah!
   1. Missouri group’s abortion petition effort raised $1 Million in first day of existence 
      1. https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/19/missouri-abortion-ballot-viabilty-effort-fundraises-1-million/
   2. Missourians for Constitutional Freedom
      1. https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/
      2. Amendment text: https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf
      3. The Heartland Collective Summary: https://theheartlandcollective.com/
      4. National Coverage: https://thehill.com/homenews/4415080-abortion-rights-advocates-single-ballot-measure-collect-signatures-missouri/
      5. 
          
      6. SEAN with your experience in the field, what are the best ways to help an effort like this? 
3. You Don’t F***ing Say
   1. Missouri GOP On The Struggle Bus
   2. https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/18/tempers-flare-in-missouri-senate-during-gop-fight-over-initiative-petition-changes/
   3. Conservative Caucus, or freedom caucus, whatever they want to be called, they are pushing the IP reform HARD and especially in the face of organization on the abortion petition
      1. https://themissouritimes.com/press-release-missouri-freedom-caucus-calls-for-republican-leaders-to-follow-through-on-ip-reform/
   4. Meanwhile - they have not lost their zeal for filing anti-trans legislation
      1. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/19/missouri-anti-trans-legislation-this-year?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

2024 Election Coverage Era

1. DeEnd for DeSantis? Candidate appearances on Sunday shows cancelled this weekend 
2. Iowa has come and gone, Trump took majority, and New Hampshire is starting to feel like the chance for a narrative shift
   1. https://www.axios.com/2024/01/19/haleys-cautious-new-hampshire-primary-trump
   2. Haley sharpens attack https://x.com/nikkihaley/status/1748348447634100366?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GA
   3. 
       
   4. Real Clear politics has Haley at 33% and Trump at 49%
      1. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/
   5. One tracking poll has Trump up over 50%
      1. https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/trump-slightly-increases-lead-over-haley-in-nh-according-to-latest-polling/3251887/
3. Third Party Law Suit https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/18/third-party-file-complaint-no-labels-2024-election?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
4. Trump’s defense on 14th amend case is a threat of violence https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/18/politics/14th-amendment-supreme-court-trump-colorado/index.html
5. 
    
6. Trump totally not looking like a mob boss as retribution is threatened for anyone who dare oppose him in the GOP: https://www.axios.com/2024/01/18/trump-campaign-revenge-desantis-iowa-bob-good
7. Trump’s Georgia Hail Mary: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225402050/georgia-trump-case-fani-willis-hearing-allegations
8. Lawmaker threats - the chaos, does it just turn folks off?
   1. https://www.alternet.org/direct-threats-against-lawmakers-surge/
9. Trump losing his GOP favorable stranglehold: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/
10. Fox and friends calling out a Trump lie
    1. https://www.meidastouch.com/news/fox-friends-says-trump-lied-about-nh-voting-laws
    2. This is what putative damages will do to you 
11. BIDEN
    1. Meanwhile Biden will be a write in in New Hampshire
       1. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/01/18/biden-new-hampshire-democratic-primary-ballot/72241066007/
    2. Primary schedule: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/calendar
    3. By the end of the day on Feb 3rd Biden will have a substantial lead in delegates after South Carolina and Nevada, with Michigan closing out February 
       1. Those three combined offer 208 delegates so the math will kick in and suddenly Biden will have a commanding lead prior to Super Tuesday 
    4. Plus a possible immigration bill, and now he’s on the offensive on the issue too
       1. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-says-senate-may-come-border-deal-early-week-rcna134832
    5. Biden trying to go full Bartlet with 2 state solution 
       1. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/us/politics/biden-calls-netanyahu-as-their-views-on-the-conduct-of-the-gaza-war-diverge.html
       2. 
           

That’s when the MONEY really begins to matter

NY  Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/15/us/politics/biden-fundraising-democrats.html

Biden has BY FAR the most cash on hand

Haley’s $ is not that far off from Trump

Last Call - NO LABELS

No labels gets sued https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/18/third-party-file-complaint-no-labels-2024-election

Phillips courting no labels https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/20/us/politics/dean-phillips-no-labels-biden.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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“Change The Conversation”

Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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Friday News Flyover, January 19, 2024

Oil train delayed | Abortion rights advocates speak with Senators | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and GOP-dominated legislature’s priorities | and OH Sen. Sherrod Brown and MO Rep. Jason Smith make big bi-partisan deal on Child Tax Credit

If you’re new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com 

This train is not leaving the station
Forest Service withdraws key permit for controversial Utah oil-train project opposed by Coloradans

Project would dramatically increase hazardous shipments through Colorado communities

BY: CHASE WOODRUFF - JANUARY 18, 2024 9:18 AM

A controversial Utah oil-train proposal opposed by Colorado communities and environmentalists was dealt another blow this week when the U.S. Forest Service withdrew a key permit for the project.

In an announcement published Wednesday, Ashley National Forest Supervisor Susan Eickhoff blocked the issuance of a permit to the Uinta Basin Railway to construct 12 miles of railroad track through a protected area of the national forest in northeast Utah. The stretch of track in question is part of the proposed railway’s 88-mile connection between the oil fields of eastern Utah’s Uinta Basin and the existing national rail network.

The project has drawn fierce opposition from Coloradans. A federal “downline analysis” estimated that 90% of the resulting oil-train traffic — as many as five fully loaded, two-mile-long trains of crude oil tankers per day — would be routed through environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas in Colorado, en route to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. The oil trains would more than quadruple the amount of hazardous materials being shipped by rail through many Colorado counties.

Colorado’s Eagle County and five environmental groups sued to overturn the Uinta Basin Railway’s approval, and in August 2023 a panel of federal judges ruled that the approval process contained “numerous” and “significant” violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. The ruling vacated portions of the project’s environmental impact statement and ordered the federal Surface Transportation Board to redo its analysis of key environmental risks.

Because the Forest Service’s decision in August 2022 to grant a right-of-way permit to the project was based on that flawed analysis, the agency has withdrawn its decision pending further proceedings at the STB.

Ted Zukoski, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to block the project. “This is wonderful news for the roadless forest in Utah’s Indian Canyon and the wildlife who call it home. It’s a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills. If the oil train’s backers attempt to revive this dangerous scheme, we’ll be there to fight it again.”

In a press release, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who had urged multiple federal agencies to put a stop to the project, applauded the Forest Service’s move.

“A derailment along the headwaters of the Colorado River could have catastrophic effects for Colorado’s communities, water, and environment. I’m glad the Forest Service has taken this important step to protect the Colorado River and the tens of millions of people who depend on it.”

U.S. Senators and Abortion Rights Advocates Discuss State Abortion Access Limitations

BY: JENNIFER SHUTT - JANUARY 17, 2024

WASHINGTON — During a Capitol Visitors Center briefing, abortion rights advocates and Democratic U.S. Senators called for reinstating legal and safe abortion access nationwide. The nearly three-hour session featured physicians discussing the difficulties faced in states with restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN involved in a lawsuit against the state's abortion laws, spoke about the validity and personal nature of each abortion decision. He highlighted patients' fears about family planning in states with restrictive laws, noting the adverse impact on what should be a joyful life chapter.

The briefing preceded the annual anti-abortion March for Life, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith scheduled to speak. Senate Democrats criticized efforts to limit abortion access and discussed two upcoming Supreme Court cases with significant implications.

One case focuses on mifepristone, a key medication in abortion and miscarriage treatments, while the other revolves around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden administration argues that EMTALA should protect doctors performing abortions as emergency medical treatment in states with strict anti-abortion laws.

Dr. Serina Floyd, a Washington, D.C. OB-GYN and Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow, expressed confusion over Republican efforts to target EMTALA, emphasizing the potential life-saving importance of emergency abortion care. She noted research indicating severe consequences for patients denied abortion access, including health risks, economic hardship, and staying in violent relationships.

Dr. Floyd advocated for non-interference from the government in medical decisions, stressing that patients are capable of making informed choices about their health and lives with their healthcare providers.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington highlighted her state's influx of abortion patients from restrictive states like Idaho. Murray and other senators at the briefing expressed concern that residents in states with abortion protections might not realize the impact of a potential nationwide abortion ban or Supreme Court decisions.

Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan pointed out that even states with constitutional reproductive rights, like Michigan, are not fully shielded from the effects of a national abortion ban. After hearing doctors' testimonies, Stabenow expressed astonishment at the challenges facing both physicians and women needing abortion access, questioning the progress made in women's rights, asking, “is it 2024 or are we back in 1984?”

Kansas Legislature Fast-Tracks Tax Reform Opposed by Governor Kelly

BY: TIM CARPENTER - JANUARY 17, 2024

TOPEKA — Kansas Republican legislative leaders are expediting a tax reform bill focusing on income and sales tax changes, including a single-rate state income tax of 5.25%, which Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has threatened to veto.

The bill, bypassing regular committee processes, is set for early-session debate in the Senate. 

The proposed tax overhaul would lead to a state revenue reduction exceeding $1.5 billion over three years, surpassing Governor Kelly's proposed $1 billion cut. The plan to implement a flat tax rate of 5.25%, replacing Kansas' three-rate income tax structure, has been met with opposition from Governor Kelly because it disproportionately benefits the wealthy.

The bill also proposes eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits, aligning with Kelly's proposal. Additionally, it seeks to remove the state sales tax on groceries starting April 1, advancing the timeline from the previously set January 1, 2025. The measure includes an exemption for the first $100,000 in state property taxes from all Kansas homeowners for school finance purposes, adjustable for inflation.

Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, view the bill as a compromise, claiming it addresses issues faced by retirees and families while tackling inflation.

Governor Kelly vetoed two major tax reform bills in 2023, which the Republican-dominated Legislature couldn't override. 

“We must get that money back into Kansans’ pockets — and we will —  in a fiscally responsible and targeted way,” Kelly said. “In a way that doesn’t threaten progress on all the other issues Kansans care about.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what one proposal — the flat tax — would do. ”   

Kansas’ Governor Kelly calls for hearing on Medicaid expansion bill that would cover 150,000 Kansans

BY: RACHEL MIPRO - JANUARY 17, 2024 2:35 PM

TOPEKA — A Medicaid expansion proposal has been enrolled into state House and Senate committees despite continued opposition from top legislative Republicans. 

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who has spent the months leading up to the legislative session rallying across the state for Medicaid expansion, called for a hearing on the bill by Jan. 29. 

“It’s easy to sum up the Cutting Healthcare Costs for All Kansans Act: health care coverage for 150,000 Kansans, cost savings for everyone else. We protect our rural hospitals, and Kansas taxpayers pay nothing extra,” Kelly said in a Wednesday announcement of the proposal’s enrollment. “The legislature should listen to the over 70% of Kansans who support Medicaid Expansion and give this bill a hearing by Kansas Day.” 

 Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, introduced the bill in the House Appropriations Committee and on the Senate side, Sen. Pat Pettey, D- Kansas City, introduced the bill into the Senate Ways and Means Committee. 

“Medicaid expansion is not only popular, but it saves lives, creates jobs and saves our rural hospitals. Hardworking Kansans shouldn’t die because of legislative inaction,” Miller said.

Medicaid expansion would unlock $700 million in annual federal funding and could potentially save 59 rural hospitals at risk of closing. Kelly unveiled her latest Medicaid expansion package in December, but Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins remain opposed to expansion, calling the move a way to expand the “welfare state.” 

Lawmakers last came close to expansion in 2020, when former Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning worked out a bipartisan deal with Kelly. But the deal fell apart as Republicans, outraged by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, focused on placing a constitutional amendment on abortion before voters instead,

Child Tax Credit and Business Incentives Merged in New Tax Proposal

BY: ASHLEY MURRAY - JANUARY 16, 2024

WASHINGTON — Leading members of Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal Tuesday, promising a middle-path deal to help low-income families and provide incentives for businesses as Trump-era tax breaks expire.

The framework led by U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri would raise the child tax credit incrementally through 2025 and restore tax relief for affordable housing projects.

The three-year proposal would also make exempt disaster payments to wildfire victims and to those who suffered losses after the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. 

Sen. Wyden, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement that “(f)ifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today’s miserable political climate, it’s a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead.”

Democrats have been pushing to permanently raise the tax credit that low-income families receive per child after a temporary increase during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated significant reductions in child poverty. 

Wyden also praised the deal’s potential to spur affordable housing construction and said that his goal “remains to get this passed in time for families and businesses to benefit in this upcoming tax filing season, and I’m going to pull out all the stops to get that done.”

Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said “American families will benefit from this bipartisan agreement that provides greater tax relief, strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs.”

“We even provide disaster relief and cut red tape for small businesses, while ending a COVID-era program that’s costing taxpayers billions in fraud. This legislation locks in over $600 billion in proven pro-growth, pro-America tax policies with key provisions that support over 21 million jobs. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation,” Smith continued in a statement Tuesday.

And for those who file 1099 forms, a provision tucked away in the framework would increase the threshold to file to $1,000 from the current $600.

The proposal won praise from across the tax policy spectrum.

Business Roundtable, an advocacy organization representing a wide range of U.S. CEOs, described the deal’s pitch to revive expired pro-business policies as “critical to strengthening America’s global competitiveness.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and key supporter of the child tax credit, urged his colleagues to pass the deal, calling it a “win-win for Ohio families and Ohio manufacturers.”

Sen. Brown said, “The deal’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit will help parents keep up with the rising cost of living and ensure that their hard work pays off. The business provisions will support American companies that invest in our nation’s research and manufacturing. The deal also ensures that residents of East Palestine won’t get hit with a surprise tax bill for payments they received from Norfolk Southern after last year’s derailment.”

Pretty, pret-ty good. 

Welp that’s it for me, from Denver I’m Sean Diller. Stories in today’s show can be found in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Kansas Reflector and Michigan Advance. Thanks for listening, see you next time.

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